Shootin' Hoops & Falling in Love
by Blondie99
Summary: Sometimes doing the wrong thing in life, will lead to something amazing. Cruz/OC


**AN: Okay, so I'm not gonna ask for reviews because I'm not even sure anyone will even read this story, but it would be appreciated!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the movie Coach Carter, only my character Angelica Carter and the plotline.**

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><p><em>Bang bang bang!<em>

_What the fuck? _I looked at my clock; 2:30 in the effing morning? _Who the hell is here at 2-_

_Bang bang bang!_

_Oh that is it!_ I jumped out of my bed and slipped a silk robe over my Raider tee shirt and black boyshorts. I ran to the bottom of the stairs to see my dad and brother already up. I stopped next to Damien who had a confused-as-hell look on his face, matching my own. My dad turned on the light and opened the door to reveal... Cruz?

"Cruz?" my dad asked, surprise. _Well hell, so am I. _"What's goin' on?"

"I wanna come back on the team." he answered back quickly. Dad flipped on the porch light to see him better. I gasped; his shirt and hands were covered in blood.

"What the hell happened?"

"They shot him... Renny, they shot Renny. I mean, we was just there... We was just- we was just there and everything was good-" he stated, with a faraway look in his eyes.

"Come inside son," my dad interrupted him but Cruz went on going as if he hadn't heard him.

"Everything was good coach, I mean... you know," he trailed off.

"Come inside son, come on." my dad gestured for him to come closer, but Cruz backed away.

"You don't understand, I wanna come back on the team. What do I gotta do to play?" Cruz asked.

"Don't worry about that son, just come inside," my dad insisted gently. Cruz looked at him, and he broke down. His face crumpled up into a look of pure sadness, and tears started to stream down his golden brown cheeks. My heart broke for him in that moment, and I had to place a hand over my mouth to stifle a sob.

"Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it okay?" he said, trying to convince dad through his tears.

"Okay okay, stop, okay, I got you," dad enveloped him in a hug, and Cruz clung to him like he was a lifeline. He let several loud sobs escape his throat as he burrowed his face into my dad's nightshirt.

"I can't believe they shot him! Oh my God!" he kept repeating through muffled sobs.

"Just come inside, alright? Come on, come on." my dad persuaded him until he started to move his feet.

"Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it." Cruz said, as he hung his head while shuffling into the house. Dad closed the door behind them, and wrapped an arm around Cruz's shoulders. I wiped away the stray tears that had managed to escape my eyes, and squeezed past a dumbfounded Damien to go and stand in front of my father and my ex-boyfriend.

Dad looked up at me with a pained look in his eyes; I pleaded with my dad with my golden-brown eyes. _'Please.'_ I mouthed to him, while more tears trickled down my cheeks. I wanted to make Cruz's pain go away; even though he was a complete and utter asshole to me after he quit the team because of the lockout, doesn't mean that I wanted him to hurt. I mean, I gave this man my V-card; he'll always have a piece of my heart. Dad nodded reluctantly, and removed his arm from Cruz's shoulders.

I walked up to Cruz slowly. "Cruz... Cruz, baby?" I spoke softly, while reaching out to touch his damp cheek. He slowly raised his head to meet my eyes, and when he did, he broke out into tears.

"Oh God, Angie! I can't believe they shot him! They shot him right in front of me!" I quickly gathered up his sobbing form in my arms, and cooed into his ear.

"Shhh, baby. I'm here, I'm right here; it's okay, it's okay Timo. Breathe baby, breathe." I rocked him from side to side, trying to subdue his tears. But it was apparent that he wasn't going to stop anytime soon.

"Take him upstairs, Angelica. Calm him down; he can stay here for the night." My dad spoke to me quietly. I glanced up at him in surprise; dad found out about Cruz's and I's secret relationship after the lockout, and he was far from happy. But he wasn't the only one; Damien wanted to pound in Cruz's skull when he found out that "the little honey" that Cruz said he bedded was his little sister. My dad and brother wouldn't look at me for a week, and that's what hurt me the most. I've always been a daddy's girl, and Damien and I have been attached at the hip since our parents married. Damien's mom, Tonya, has been nothing short of a mother-figure to me all of my life, but a small part of me still doesn't accept her; afraid she'll take Damien and leave me and my dad alone, like my real mom did.

See, my so called "mother", Elisa, and my dad met when they were seniors in high school. One look into each other's eyes and BAM! Instant connection! Even though she was Hispanic and dad was African-American, I guess true love conquered all. They married right after they graduated from school, my dad turning down a full basketball scholarship to any school of his choice. And instead, he got me nine months later; after that though, Elisa fell into a deep depression. She started doing drugs and being the whoring herself out to any man who would look twice at her, but my dad wouldn't have any of it.

He kicked her out of the house, and got full custody of me so she wouldn't be able to pull any legal bullshit if she ever got sober later on. Then, when I was about three, my dad met Tonya at the grocery store while he was trying to figure out what a hungry toddler liked to eat. She offered a helping hand, they talked for a few minutes, and next thing you know, _wedding bells_!

Anyway, right now was the first time dad had looked me in the eye since he found out about Cruz and me.

"Thank you daddy," I said softly, as he placed a kiss on my forehead and walked back upstairs to get some sleep.

Damien gave me a concerned look, but I shrugged it off and pulled against Cruz so we could go to my room. He slumped up the stairs with me, leaning against me the whole way. We got to my bedroom and he collapsed on top of my bed; he just sat there with a blank stare on his face, doing nothing. I went into my bathroom and got a washcloth from the linen closest, and wet it with warm water.

I re-entered my room to find Cruz in the same state as I had left him in. I curled up on the bed next to him, and cradled one of his bloodied hands and began to clean him off. His eyes drifted close as the wet cloth washed away his cousin's blood. I repeated the process with the other hand; Cruz still hadn't moved.

I pushed his heavy coat off of his shoulders, and placed it by my hamper.

"Cruz..." I asked. He glanced up at me with a dead look on his face; he was seriously starting to scare me. "Can I take off your shirt? It has blood on it." He nodded slowly, and lifted his arms in the air slightly. I pulled his chain off, and tugged at the end of his tee shirt. I lifted up his arms more and I pulled it straight off of him. His well-built form and toned biceps contrasted majorly with his mood. His body was strong and hard, but his emotional state was weak and broken. I checked over his torso quickly to make sure he wasn't hurt, or bleeding.

"I'm okay Angie," Cruz's monotone voice told me. His voice broke the long silence in my room, and it scared the shit out of me. I tried to calm down my racing heart that was now going bezerk.

"Cruz, can I do anything for you at all?" I asked, only wanting to help him in anyway I could.

"Yeah... Could you just hold me for a while?" he sounded a tiny bit hopeful, and he was wringing his hands together like he does when he's nervous. I didn't answer him, only climbed up my bed and sat up against my headboard. He crawled over to me and lay his head on my stomach, and let out a deep sigh. I ran my fingers through his curly black hair and rubbed his scalp. His eyes drifted closed after a little while, and mine soon followed.


End file.
